1. Field of the Present Disclosure
The present disclosure is directed to a device and apparatus for accurately measuring a person's trunk rotation in a seated position.
2. Related Art
After headaches, back pain is the second leading cause of neurological ailments in the U.S. The cost to individuals, employers, and society is in the billions of dollars. Most acute back pain (short term) is related to trauma, such as, e.g., heavy lifting, or injury, such as, e.g., a fall. Acute back pain can usually resolve itself in days or weeks with proper treatment.
However, chronic back pain (lasting months) can have other causes (excepting disease or severe injury). In the field of physical therapy, chiropractic, and rehabilitation, one of the primary objectives to reduce chronic back pain is improving flexibility (also known as range of motion or ROM). Goniometers and inclinometers are common devices used by health care practitioners to measure a person's ROM to make proper diagnosis and measure the progress of treatment. Restricted ROM and chronic back pain are highly correlated, and improving a person's flexibility to reduce back pain is well established in the health care industry.
The field of ergonomics has greatly improved worker safety, especially in preventing musculoskeletal disorders. However, even with the best efforts in ergonomics, many jobs require employees to lift, bend, twist, and stand for long periods of time. Employers are well aware that back injuries are the leading and most costly of workers compensation claims. Employers are also aware that hiring employees with pre-existing back problems can result in costly workers compensation claims. Therefore, many employers require new hires to take physical exams that include “Functional Capacity Evaluations” where, using standardized test instruments, the individual performs various lifts, squats, and twisting movements that characterize job tasks. Comparing the test results to standardized norms, it can be determined if there is a potential for the new hire to incur an on-the-job back injury.
Workers compensation is a “no-fault” insurance program: no matter who is at fault, the employer pays. The goal of this system is provide immediate benefits to injured workers and avoid costly litigation. However, the workers compensation system is highly litigated. Disputes arise when an injured worker claims his injuries (or disabilities) are greater than what the company or the insurance company claims. In the case of a back injury, the degree of disability can make a big difference in the settlement the employee receives (and the attorney representing the employee). Beyond objective measures found in x-rays, MRIs and physical exams, a portion of the disability (the size of the settlement) is mostly subjective, determined by what the injured worker tells the treating physician what they can and cannot do. Having a standardized test instrument that would objectively measure the extent of a back disability would benefit all parties.
Flexibility is one of the five accepted components of physical fitness along with muscular strength and endurance, cardio-respiratory endurance, and body composition (fat vs. lean mass). In the world of sports, flexibility is one of the keys to athletic performance, especially in rotational sports such as golf, tennis, and batting. Even though the importance of good flexibility is well understood by athletes, measuring flexibility has been limited to the sit-and-reach box which measures only back flexion and not rotation.